Lecture | Blue History Network Graduate Forum
Water movements
- Date
- Thursday 7 May 2026
- Time
- Address
-
Johan Huizinga
Doelensteeg 16
2311 VL Leiden - Room
- Conference room 2.60
Join a series of seminars putting water at the center of (historical) analysis! Explore new topics and perspectives within broader themes in this rapidly emerging field. Open to all scholars and students
interested in the blue humanities.
Water movements
Changes in perceptions and governance of water have, traditionally, been slow, top-down processes. However, especially in the face of changing landscapes and impending crises, social movements have emerged to assert and defend the rights of people, communities, and the planet itself. These movements are associated with a broad range of issues, from everyday water and sanitation access to coastal regions facing environmental devastation and come from all levels of society. Grassroots activists and powerful international NGOs alike have found in water a truly global cause for concern, but their specific aims and methods differ, sometimes causing conflict and unintended consequences for the causes they champion. This seminar will focus on the historical roots and underlying structures of these water movements and solidarity netoworks, to better understand their increasing prominence, and expanding roles.
Suggested works:
- Baviskar, Amita. In the Belly of the River : Tribal Conflicts over Development in the Narmada Valley. Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1995.
- Bosworth, Kai. 2022. Pipeline Populism : Grassroots Environmentalism in the Twenty-First Century. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
- Fazzi, Dario. 2023. Smoke on the Water : Incineration at Sea and the Birth of a Transatlantic Environmental Movement. New York: Columbia University Press.
- Gilio-Whitaker, Dina. 2019. As Long as Grass Grows : The Indigenous Fight for Environmental Justice, from Colonization to Standing Rock. Boston: Beacon Press.
- Schroering, Caitlin. 2024. Global Solidarities Against Water Grabbing : Without Water, We Have Nothing. Manchester: Manchester University Press
Blue History Network Graduate Forum
The Blue History Network Graduate Forum is a series of seminars on topics related to blue history, inviting scholars to join an ongoing conversation on key themes within this rapidly emerging field. The fluidity of water as a shared point of reference facilitates new connections and insightful discussions across traditional disciplinary boundaries, and the Graduate Forum aims to incorporate a broad range of perspectives and engage a wider audience. Each session will have an overarching theme and some suggested starting points, but participants are warmly encouraged to draw connections to their own research and interests during the discussions. The Graduate Forum will be hosted at Leiden University, with the option to attend online, and is open to all scholars interested in blue history, whether to share and deepen existing expertise or explore exciting new ways of conceptualizing and working with history.
